In Indianapolis, the group has targeted several neighborhoods plagued by violence, recruiting neighborhood residents to walk the streets and act as a liaison between the community and police at crime scenes.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police credit the group for helping to build trust between residents and law enforcement, sometimes generating tips that help solve crimes.

Three Indianapolis neighborhoods with violent histories have gone more than a year without homicides following Ten Point's involvement, Hill said.

He said the grant money will likely be tied to matching funding commitments from local communities. Ultimately, the money is only "a small part of the equation," he said.

"These efforts work," he said, "when communities decide they don't want violence in their neighborhoods and when people take the initiative to turn this around."

Hill's announcement came just an hour after Rep. Todd Rokita formally announced his run for U.S. Senate on the Statehouse steps. He joins Rep. Luke Messer, state Rep. Mike Braun and several others who have announced they plan to compete in the Republican primary for a chance to run against Democrat Sen. Joe Donnelly.

Hill, a Republican, declined to answer questions about speculation that he is considering jumping into the race.